Toilet Troubles

When we were in the process of looking for a new home we visited several "fixer-uppers" and decided that we didn't have the time and money to invest in renovating them. How thankful we are to have made that decision when we start to realize how much "fixing-upping" goes into almost any house. Our is in great condition, but has a large number of things that need to be repaired, replaced, updated or decorated. (Trust me, we made a list this weekend!)

On Sunday, David decided to do a simple plumbing repair on our toilet to stop it from running all the time. He went to the hardware store, picked up a new refill thingy and began to install it. In the process, the flush valve broke, so it was back to the store to get a new valve. Since the repair would now involve taking the tank off of the bowl, he went ahead and bought new bolts just in case the old ones had to be sawed off. After taking the tank off (the bolts came out fine) he discovered that the tank had a leak that had been patched, but seemed to still be leaking a bit judging by the stuff growing on the back of the toilet. Also, the shut off valve wasn't working so well and there was a steady trickle coming out of the refill hose that he was catching in a bowl. At that point all the stores were closed and we needed to sleep on it, so he put the new refill thingy on the leaky hose, rigged a coat hanger to keep it upright and keep it from leaking and we called it a night.

Monday, he got back to work trying to remove the old valve from the tank. None of the wrenches we own fit the huge nut, so he was thinking about taking another trip to the hardware store to buy a wrench. By that time we took a long look at the situation and decided that since a new toilet was in the future anyway, we would just go ahead and um... take the plunge. We spent our Valentine's morning at Lowe's and Home Depot looking for that perfect toilet. We finally found one that was round bowled and chair height. I've threatened to paint a heart on the inside as a reminder. Then of course we had to find just the right toilet seat. By the time we did all our shopping it was time for David to go to work. Hopefully we will get it installed tomorrow. We will keep you posted!